There has been a worrying increase in the number of councils in England failing to protect children from abuse, according to a government watchdog which also announced an overhaul of its heavily criticised tickbox inspection regime.

The number of councils in England judged inadequate at keeping children safe has doubled in a year, said the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), which recently came under fire for awarding a good rating last year to Haringey council in north London, where Baby P died.

Unemployment looks certain to rise to 2 million in the new year after the number of people out of work increased by the largest amount since the early 1990s, and amid warnings that the onset of recession will push the number even higher.

The once-booming British services sector has borne the brunt of the job losses, the figures reveal, especially financial companies, hotels, restaurants and retailers. The figures also showed big rises in youth unemployment, particularly men, and long-term joblessness.

Humayra Abedin, the NHS doctor who was kidnapped by her parents in Bangladesh, was forced to marry against her will during her four months in captivity, she confirmed yesterday.

The 33-year-old doctor, who flew back to Britain this week after a court in Dhaka ordered her release, said her parents had picked out a man and made her marry him at a Muslim wedding in November. Her parents live in the Bangladeshi capital but the ceremony was held in another province.

A gay father whose son was “snatched” away by his lesbian mother during family court proceedings was finally able to appeal publicly for his safe return yesterday after restrictions on identifying the parties was lifted.

Michael Turberville has not seen Ashley Skinner, 7, since the boy’s mother, Joanne, vanished with him during contested court proceedings more than a year ago.

Our website uses cookies, which are small text files that are widely used in order to make websites work more effectively. To continue using our website and consent to the use of cookies, click click 'Continue'. Find out more.